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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. One or more vocalists performing without an accompaniment.






2. A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.






3. A direction to play lively and fast.






4. A set of seven musicians who perform a composition written for seven parts.






5. An extended cantata on a sacred subject.






6. A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.






7. A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.






8. A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.






9. The principal note of a triad.






10. A quick - improvisational - spirited piece of music.






11. The voice between soprano and alto. Also - in sheet music - a direction for the tempo to be played at medium speed.






12. Curved line connecting notes to be sung or played as a phrase.






13. A successive transposition and repetition of a phrase at different pitches.






14. A direction to play expressively.






15. Singing in unison - texts in a free rhythm. Similar to the rhythm of speech.






16. A musical form where the principal theme is repeated several times. The rondo was often used for the final movements of classical sonata form works.






17. A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.






18. The technique of altering the tone color of a single note or musical line by changing from one instrument to another in the middle of a note or line.






19. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






20. The structure of a piece of music.






21. A composition written for a solo instrument. The soloist plays the melody while the orchestra plays the accompaniment.






22. A separate section of a larger composition.






23. A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional - expressive - and imaginative style.






24. A book of text containing the words of an opera.






25. A song of praise and glorification. Most often to honor God.






26. The first section of a movement written in sonata form - introducing the melodies and themes.






27. The retuning of a stringed instrument in order to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual tone color.






28. The element of music pertaining to time - played as a grouping of notes into accented and unaccented beats.






29. A person with notable technical skill in the performance of music.






30. Music composed such that each note is used the same number of times.






31. Piece of instrumental music played between scenes in a play or opera.






32. A composition written for three to six voices. Beginning with the exposition - each voice enters at different times - creating counterpoint with one another.






33. Singing in unison - texts in a free rhythm. Similar to the rhythm of speech.






34. The opening section of a piece of music or movement.






35. A short and simple melody performed by a soloist that is part of a larger piece.






36. Either of the two octave arrangements in modern music. The modes are either major or minor.






37. A tempo having slow movement; restful at ease.






38. A musical style characterized as excessive - ornamental - and trivial.






39. The retuning of a stringed instrument in order to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual tone color.






40. An instrumental lament with praise for the dead.






41. A solo concert with or without accompaniment.






42. A set of four musicians who perform a composition written for four parts.






43. A rhythmic succession of musical tones - a melody for instruments and voices.






44. A Boroque dance with a drone-bass.






45. Three to four movement orchestral piece - generally in sonata form.






46. A sequence of songs - perhaps on a single theme - or with texts by one poet - or having continuos narrative.






47. The expression the performer brings when playing his instrument.






48. The movement of chords in succession.






49. A dance written in triple time - where the accent falls on the first beat of each measure.






50. The major and minor keys that share the same notes in that key.For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.